


Sweet Dreams

by indecisivegaymer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coma AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-07 23:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11634159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indecisivegaymer/pseuds/indecisivegaymer
Summary: A horrible accident leaves Keith in a coma and the Castle of Lions inoperable and unable to aid in Keith's recovery. Unable to have a speedy recovery, Keith is left to his mind where he has vivid, life-like dreams of an alternate world where things were different: where Keith actually confesses his more than platonic feelings for Shiro before Shiro leaves for the Project Kerberos mission, where they are lovingly reunited after a long year apart, where they share a fraction of their romantic lives together as paladins... Then suddenly, Keith awakens in a healing pod, days after he went comatose, with Coran informing him that any dreams he had may feel like actual memories. Don't worry, those faux memories will fade though! But...will they fade before Keith slips up and lets Shiro know of his true feelings and of their ideal life together...?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first Voltron fanfic (and first fic since I was like, 14, so, hah, please bare with me as I get reacquainted with writing again! ...It's been a minute, considering that I'm 19 now...all I've done is roleplaying and I'm rediscovering that it is NOT the same...) but I saw a prompt on sheithficideas on tumblr called 'coma AU' and I wanted to see this idea in fic form and, well, I'm a writer (kinda) so I was like 'welp, guess I will be the one to make this into the multichapter fic I'd like to be reading!' So...without further ado, enjoy~

“Keith…!” That voice… It was familiar… that much he knew for sure. Keith’s head hurt. Bad. It was pounding… it- it felt like his brain was blowing up like a balloon...like it was pushing up against the inside of his skull, threatening to spill out of his ears… and maybe it was? For all Keith knew, it could’ve been. Keith groaned. Ow, that hurt...why did groaning hurt? He tried to open his eyes but the inside of his lion was just…way too bright. He shut them tightly but that…hurt too. Fuck…what was wrong with him?

“Keith! Can you hear me?” That voice… it was the same as the one from before. That was Shiro’s voice? Yeah, it was, for sure…but it sounded _weird._  It sounded as if…as if it were traveling through something thick. Like...molasses? But that…couldn’t be ...possible…there was no molasses in his helmet. Not that he knew of anyways. So, why did Shiro’s voice sound like that? In fact, why did all noises sounded like that right now.

          Dull thuds sounded around him; Keith’s head loosely lulling back and forth, every small movement hurting Keith immensely, as the red lion rocked left and right from an onslaught of explosions that she was taking from the attacking ships.

          Keith opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly. It still hurt to have his eyes open...but not as much as it did a second ago. But this time, his vision was blurred. The inside of his lion…looked like it was spinning. Oh wow, he might vomit…is this how Hunk felt all the time? Keith chuckled at the thought but instantly regretted that. It hurt to laugh. What didn’t hurt right now? He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, trying hard to focus…

          A powerful blast roughly rocked Red, jolting Keith and blowing his concentration. Okay... He…needed to get out of here. Where ever he was, he wasn’t safe and there was no way he was going to be able to properly focus if he kept getting hit like this. He flexed his fingers around Red’s controls, barely summoning enough strength to move them. No dice. They were stuck. Or off…either way, Red wasn’t moving, no matter what he did; she must’ve taken too much damage...Keith could relate but now is not the time.

“S-shiro…?” Keith mumbled when he finally summoned enough energy to speak. His mouth was dry. It felt as if it were filled up with cotton balls… “Shiro, are…are you still there?

“Keith! Yes! Yes, I’m here. Are you ok? We need to get you out of there.” Keith smiled, weakly. Shiro sounded concerned. He wasn’t happy that Shiro needed to be concerned about him…but it would be a lie to say he didn’t like it. He pushed those feelings down though. Now wasn’t the time. Not when he felt as if he were near death. And for all he knew, he could quite possibly be.

“I’m...not sure. Hurts to talk. Or do much. But y-yeah…but Red won’t move though. Whatever I’ve been hit with…I don’t know, I think it messed her up too.”

“That’s fine, we’ll figure something out. I promise you, Keith, we’ll get you out of-” Shiro stopped mid-sentence, gasping.

“Shiro?” Keith blinked…Shiro’s voice had been so calm and comforting and in an instant, it was much louder, which hurt Keith’s head, and alarming, which made Keith’s stomach sink.

“Pidge, get Keith out of there! Now!”

“Roger!”

“Lance, see if you can stop that beam! We can’t let it hit Keith again.”

“Alright, I’m on it!”

“Shiro…” Keith adjusted in his seat, shifting both of his controls to get Red to respond.  She still wasn’t moving…he shook the controls more frantically. He didn’t like that Shiro was keeping him in the dark. Keith was sure it was only because Shiro didn’t want him panicking but it was hard to not panic when Shiro was quietly  keeping him in the dark. “…Shiro, what’s going-”

“KEITH!”

          A final blast smacked into Red’s head, flipping her over time and time again, sending Keith’s head straight forward into his console and then back hard against his seat, knocking the red paladin out nearly instantly. Shiro yelling his name was the last thing that the red paladin heard before everything went completely dark and still, in his mind and in his lion.

~*~*~*~

“KEITH!” Shiro ran from Black’s control room as soon as he could land and as soon as both lions had been safely returned to the Castle of Lions. Shiro was worried though. He hadn’t heard anything from Keith’s end since that last blast had hit Red right in her head, where Keith’s control room was located. All he could do was hope that he wasn’t…no, stop that. Shiro didn’t want to think of that as being a possibility. Keith was so strong, so resilient…he’d seen Keith face much, much worse so he couldn’t be…Shiro shook the thought away.

          The Red lion still seemed fairly damaged but she was online by the time Shiro got to her mouth. She was feeble, not standing and laying on her side, but she still opened her jaw and allowed him to step inside without him needing to utter a word. He nodded and silently thanked her; knowing the Red lion, she cared about Keith’s safety just as bad as he did and he was sure that she was just as concerned. Shiro didn’t waste any time getting to the inside control room of Red as fast as possible.

          He wasn’t sure what he expected to see when he entered Red’s control room but...it sure wasn’t what he laid his eyes on. The sight of Keith’s limp form, sprawled out in the chair in the center of the control room was shocking enough for Shiro’s breath to get caught in his throat.

“Keith…” Shiro whispered, feeling his eyes tingle at the edges. His voice felt like it was stuck in his throat and he feared that if he tried to talk above a whisper, his voice might break right in half. Shiro ran around the side of his chair and stooped down in front of Keith, taking his limp hand in his own. He wasn’t responding to touch and he wasn’t moving either. Not even his chest seemed to be moving up and down with the normal movement of breathing...

          Through his cracked helmet, he looked pale. Way too pale. And clammy. Truth be told, he…he looked…no, Shiro pushed that thought away as he carefully removed Keith’s helmet. He couldn’t be…he had to be…he couldn’t bare the thought of Keith being… Shiro carelessly tossed his helmet to the ground and reached to brush back the sweat slicked hair that was stuck to Keith’s forehead, dragging the backs of his fingers along the side of Keith’s face. He was cold… way too cold. Shiro bit his lip, feeling his eyes warming and watering, his heart starting to sink to the depths of his stomach.

“No…” Shiro breathes, sliding the pads of his fingers up Keith’s jaw, thumbing over cheek. He stopped, resting his hand along his the side of Keith’s neck. He slowly brought his other hand up to cover his mouth, swallowing hard to keep a sob from rising in his throat. No…Keith…he can’t be...he- he never got to tell Keith how he felt about hi- wait.

          Shiro straightened up, pulling his hand from his mouth as a tear ran down his cheek. He quickly moved his hand and pressed two fingers to Keith’s neck. The black paladin held his breath and…sighed a deep breath of relief. Keith had a pulse…a weak pulse but he had a pulse…thank god, he had a pulse…

          He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wetly laughing as tears streamed down his face. “Dammit, Keith. Don’t scare me like that…” Shiro chuckled and shook his head, swallowing thickly. He needed to get him to a healing pod, immediately. But…he’ll probably be ok. At least, a weak pulse was better than no pulse.

          Shiro was gentle as he slipped his arms under Keith’s knees and back, pulling him from his chair. Keith’s head fell to Shiro’s chest, causing the black paladin to smile down at him a little bit. Like this, he just looked like he was sleeping...it reminded Shiro of the times where Keith fell asleep in his dorm, back in the Garrison, and how Shiro would carry him back to his own dorm in the middle of the night. At first, anyways. Before they grew closer. After a while, it just got to the point where he’d just tuck Keith into his bed and either share the bed with him or take the floor. Either way, it took less time and effort than it would’ve, trying to sneak him back to his dorm after curfew.

          He stepped around the chair and carried Keith out Red’s mouth, cradling him close to his chest. The rest of the paladins stood outside in the middle of the lion’s hangar, idly chatting, along with Allura and Coran, who must’ve joined the paladins after everyone had safely landed. Everyone looks up when they see Shiro exit the red lion while carrying Keith and everyone’s expression falls. Keith’s arm hangs and sways with Shiro’s movements.

“Shiro, is he…you know…?” Hunk asks, finally breaking the silence, asking the question that no one wants to say but everyone is thinking.

“He’s ok... I think. He’s breathing and he has a pulse, but…” Shiro looked to Keith, chewing on the inside of his cheek. A cold sweat drenched Keith’s face. His eyebrows were knit together, causing him to look pained and his eyes were rapidly moving behind his eyelids. He looked as if he were dreaming...

“I think getting him to a healing pod would be our safest bet.” Shiro states while looking to Coran, who starts nervously twirling his mustache with a finger.

“Oh, right, of course. Well, you see, we’ve run into a _slight_ problem-“

“Shiro, the castle has sustained quite a lot of damage from that last attack. I’m afraid most of the castle is inoperable.” Princess Allura steps in for Coran, explaining the situation. “Until Coran can take a look at the damage, I’m afraid we won’t be able to access Keith’s condition or put him into a healing pod.”

          Shiro looked down at Keith. He wasn’t looking any better than the last time he checked. And it was clear that he needed medical attention sooner rather than later. Shiro returned his gaze to the others. “Well, we can’t exactly leave him with no care. There’s got to be something we can do for Keith in the meantime, right?”

          Coran pursed his lips, rolling his mustache between his fingers before snapping them. “Ah, ha! I’ve got an idea. It’s very primitive but it will have to do while I work on fixing the castle.”

“Whatever it is, we’re doing it. Keith…I- we can’t afford to lose him.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got chapter 2 done, guys!!! I don't have much to say besides thanking everyone who commented and/or gave me kudos! I may not have responded but I can assure you, I read and greatly appreciated everyone who gave me support! So much, in fact, that when I was excitedly editing this chapter, it ended up being an entire two whole pages longer than I had originally written! So you guys rock and are amazing!!! And I hope it was well worth the wait. Enjoy~

“Is this really all that can be done for him, Coran?” Shiro asked, worrying his lip.

 “Yes, I’m afraid so. There isn’t much I can do for him, unfortunately. Without having access to the medical bay or healing pods, I’m only left up to guess work. Even the home remedy I had in mind is inaccessible right now so having Keith rest and keeping a close eye on his vitals is all that can be done right now.” Coran tells him while helping Shiro remove the armor from Keith’s body.

“And since Keith doesn’t seem to be bothered by any amount of movement or talking...if I had to guess, I’d say it’s possible that he’s…” Coran stopped himself from going any further and the prolonged silence caused Shiro to look over at the Altean man.

“He’s what, Coran? No matter how difficult it is to say, I’d like to know.”

           Coran reached up to twirl his mustache, a nervous habit of his. “He’s...I believe it’s possible that our dear Keith here is in...a coma.” Shiro’s eyebrows rose.

“Coran, a coma? You really think it’s that serious?”

“Yes. You’ve noticed how he seems to be in such a deep sleep? But no matter what we do to him,” Coran demonstrates by tickling the bare bottom of Keith’s foot, earning himself no reaction whatsoever. Shiro frowns. He knows, for a fact, that that would normally leave Keith kicking, “he doesn’t budge! He doesn’t seem to even be slightly bothered!” Coran laughed dryly. This was no laughing matter but Coran couldn’t help but try and lighten the mood, even if only slightly.

“I think he might’ve hit his old noggin pretty hard out there! I just hope it wasn’t _too_ hard…” Coran trails off and they continue stripping Keith of his paladin armor, leaving him in just his underclothes before slipping him into the healing pod suit.

“Here, we’ll go ahead and put him into this so that as soon as I have the Castle up and running properly, we can slip him right into a healing pod! How does that sound?” Coran smiles, trying his hardest to keep his tone cheerful and optimistic. Coran thinks that Shiro looks like he could use some positivity right now...And Shiro appreciates the effort on Coran’s part and offers him a forced smile.

          It was kind of hard for Shiro to feign any kind of positive emotion after being told that Keith was in a coma though. “That sounds like a plan, Coran...Coran, the Gorgeous Man.” Shiro laughs through his nose and earns a beaming grin from Coran.

“Excellent! So, I’ll be off now. If you need me or if anything about Keith’s state changes, feel free to let me know. Like I said, for the time being we’ll just have to keep an eye on him.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll keep an eye on him for now. You just worry about getting the Castle up and running for us, alright?”

“Will do!” Coran gave him a cheery smile, saluting the black paladin, before finally leaving him alone with Keith.

          And as soon as the older Altean was gone, Shiro let out a loud sigh. He managed to keep on a brave face when Coran was in the room but...he was extremely worried about Keith now. More than he was before. A coma? That...was serious. And not something that could be so easily glazed over, like Coran just did. He didn’t blame Coran for glazing over it though…Coran isn’t an idiot. He’s aware of how serious a coma can be...he was just trying to stay positive to keep Shiro positive. And Shiro did really appreciate that too.

          Shiro dragged a chair over to Keith’s bedside and plopped down in it. He didn’t realize how tired he was until he sat down but he couldn’t allow himself to sleep at a time like this...not with Keith, lying before him. In a coma, of all things. He frowned, resting his cheek in his metallic hand. He reached out with his other and stroked the hair resting along Keith’s forehead. He truly looked like he was only sleeping…

          Shiro thought back to their days back in the Garrison, back to those times where Keith fell asleep in his dorm. He looked exactly how he does now. Sleeping...dreaming peacefully...except before, he could wake up. Before, he wasn’t trapped in his own mind, trapped in an endless dream. Shiro couldn’t even imagine what was going through his head right now....whatever it is...he hopes it’s sweet.

~*~*~*~

          Keith snarls up at the holographic video being projected near the back wall of the canteen area. Currently, ‘Takashi Shirogane’ is being reported on as the final member being accepted for the Project Kerberos mission. And, of course, with how naturally charming and charismatic as Shiro was, he was talking about how honored he was for being chosen for this once in a lifetime opportunity and how much it meant for him to be apart of such a groundbreaking, revolutionary trip for mankind and yada yada yada...

          Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes. He rested his cheek on his fist and pointlessly pushed his food around his tray, mixing everything in an unsavory manner. It wasn’t as if Keith were _jealous_ of Shiro or anything… Of course he wasn’t _jealous_ of Shiro. In fact, he was happy for him. Happy that he was getting this opportunity that he had been training for for such a long time. And he wholeheartedly agreed that Shiro was the best pilot for the mission.

          But...despite the career furthering opportunity for Shiro...Keith couldn’t help but feel...worried? Concerned? Scared? Yeah, that was it. He was scared. The thought of Shiro going all the way out there...this was the farthest trip humanity has ever tried to take. The trip would take months, nearly a year _just_ to get there and it would take the same amount to time to get back. So that would be...nearly two years until Keith could see Shiro again? Possibly more, depending on how long it took to properly extract samples from Kerberos. And Keith wasn’t sure if he could...bare being away from Shiro for that long.

          Truth be told, Keith...care for Shiro. Far more than how a _friend_ should. And that’s all they were. Just...friends. But he cared...so much, so strongly for Shiro that it was becoming a...problem. And like most problems that Keith had, it was all because he’d much rather keep his feelings to himself rather than share them with anyone. Even with someone as important as Shiro was to him. Sharing feelings made Keith feel...weak. And he wasn’t! He _wasn’t_ weak, he just…

          Keith sighed deeply through his nose and tossed his fork down into his tray. He scooped his tray up and stood from his chair so fast that he knocked his chair over. He didn’t even bother picking it back up before carelessly throwing his mess of a tray in the trash, effectively spraying the wall with gross leftover food bits. Several cadets glanced over in his direction, but quickly turned their eyes back to their food and conversation when Keith glanced their way.

          Many have learned by now that it was just better to leave Keith alone when he displayed any sort of anger or rage due to his hotheaded nature. It almost always blew up in their faces if they said anything directly to him. Of course, that didn’t stop them from gossiping about him and fabricating excuses or inaccurate ‘tragic backstories’ for him. Keith didn’t care though. He thought it was none of their business but there was no stopping people from speculating so he let it slide… there were far more important things for him to care about than stupid gossip anyhow.

          Keith sped through the halls, bumping into shoulders of passerby and scattering papers of those who were carrying them. He ignored their comments and the insults they slung his way. He wasn’t even paying them any attention. Right now, he just...he just needed to be alone. And away from people. Away from the halls full of those with their their talk of nothing but Project Kerberos. Away from...everything. He didn’t want to think about...anything that was on his mind right now.

          He finally found himself standing in the center of the training center. Keith shucked his cadet jacket off and carelessly threw it to the floor. In the back of his mind, he knew he’d be in deep shit if an Officer were to walk by or came in the training area and spotted his cadet jacket crumpled on the floor but...right now, all he cared about was blowing off some frustration; Frustration at Shiro for being amazing and accepting the pilot spot for the Project Kerberos...Frustration at himself for his own crazy whirlwind of emotions…just...just frustration in general, ok...

          Keith let out a hard sigh and crossed the room to grab a hard-plastic training sword from the rack. He held it in his hand, feeling and making sure it was as balanced as he’d like before taking it to the center of the room. Most cadets went for something cooler, something more practical, like a laser gun practice or something like that. But Keith preferred close ranged combat. Something with either knives, daggers, or short to long swords. He felt like it was more personal and less cowardly. Anyone could point and shoot a gun with a press of the trigger...

          Keith lost himself in swinging his sword at the various dummies around the room, guiding himself through various drills, hacking and slashing at the self-healing surface of the dummies...he became so lost in himself that he didn’t even realize that someone else had entered the training area.

          Not until they were right on him. Keith felt a presence right behind him, barely thinking and acting on instinct only, when he whipped around. He grabbed the person by their arm, ran around their side, in a blur, and held their arm at a sharp angle behind their back, bringing them to their knees before putting the dull blade of the plastic sword against their throat.

“Uh, Keith?” The person chuckled, not daring to move in case that meant harming themselves in Keith’s grip. Keith’s hardened, battle-ready expression softened at the sight of the familiar dark brown crew cut hair in front of him.

“Sorry, Shiro. You should know better than to sneak up on me by now though.” Keith released his friend with a slightly amused smirk on his lips. Shiro stood to his full height, rubbing his arm where Keith had him held tightly, and turned on his heel to face Keith.

  
“Yeah, you’d think!” Shiro laughed while still rubbing his arm. Keith pursed his lips. He hoped he hadn’t accidentally hurt him too bad…

“So…” Shiro looks over Keith’s shoulder, his gaze settling on Keith’s abandoned cadet jacket. He quirks an eyebrow. “Is something wrong? Because if there’s nothing wrong, right this second, there will be if someone else catches you violating your uniform like that…”

“Someone else?” Keith quirks an eyebrow and shoots him a sly smirk. “You say that as if you _aren’t_ going to report me for violating my uniform, Mr. Goody Two Shoes.” Shiro raised his hand to cover a small laugh, shaking his head.

“Why would I? We’re friends, Keith.” The smirk that was previously on Keith’s lips fell into a frown. Shiro didn’t seem to notice and kept talking. “I’m not going to rat you out for a uniform violation. I’ll remind you, of course. And I’ll watch you as you ignore me. And _then_ I’ll watch you as you end up having to do laps around campus until you pass out in your own pool of vomit.”

          Shiro snickers at the thought. “Of course, I’ll also be there to, at least, roll you over so you don’t drown in your pool of vom-”

“But will you though?” Keith suddenly snapped, cutting Shiro off. Shiro’s eyes widened. He shut his mouth immediately. Keith cursed himself for doing that. Shiro was only joking around, like old times, but it irritated Keith...felt like it was a feeble attempt at glazing over the fact that he’d be….gone for a _long_ time soon...or...something. Maybe Keith was overthinking it. He tended to do that...but it’s not like Shiro didn’t _know_ that Keith _knew_ at this point; It was what everyone was talking about now.

          An uncomfortable silence fell over the pair. It was only broken when Shiro was finally able to compose himself and mull over what to say. “Keith, if I said anything to make you mad, I didn’t mean to. I just…”

“No,” Keith stepped in when Shiro trailed off, “No, I’m...I’m sorry. You didn’t say anything to...I just…” Keith furrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest. He had a hard time raising his gaze back up at Shiro. He felt ashamed, he couldn’t even look up at him right now.

“You know that I heard about you earning a spot in the Project Kerberos mission from other cadets, right? You didn’t tell me about it yourself, I heard it through...mostly rumors first…” Keith paused, allowing Shiro to say something. When he didn’t., he kept on speaking. “And I thought they were just that. Rumors, you know?” Keith shrugged his shoulders, still looking anywhere but at Shiro.

“So I thought nothing of it. And then, it was confirmed when the Garrison made a public announcement about it…” Keith’s gaze landed on his own feet. His arms had fallen to his sides and his hands were balled into fists. They were visibly shaking. His nails dug into his palms so hard that it really hurt. Keith felt his eyes warm, tingle, and then water.

 “Shiro, I…” Keith swallowed thickly, trying his best to keep his voice steady. “I thought we were friends. And you didn’t...you could’ve told me yourself but instead I…”

          Tears began slipping down his cheeks and he grit his teeth to keep his sobs confided to his head. He didn’t want Shiro to know that he was crying over him, because of him. Friends...don’t do this. If he showed Shiro that he was crying over him like this….then he might...he might have to explain that he’s practically in....dammit…

          Shiro’s eyebrows were knit in concern. Keith, his best friend, was shaking with sobs in front of him and he was trying his hardest to not show it, Shiro could tell. He sighed deeply and ran a hand through his bangs. What was he going to say, going to do...he knew one thing for sure though; he couldn’t keep quiet for much longer or Keith would storm away.

“Keith...I’m sorry. I...shouldn’t have kept it from you, you’re right. I should’ve told you. It was supposed to be confidential though. And stay that way. For a while, at least. I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about it until all of the plans were set in stone. But you’re right...after things were confirmed, I should’ve told you personally. If I had any clue not telling you would’ve hurt you like this, I would’ve told you as soon as I was able to talk about it because...I care about you, Keith.” Shiro smiles down at Keith as he reaches out and set a hand on Keith’s shoulder, gently squeezing him.

          They stay like that for a moment; Shiro with his hand on Keith’s shoulder, Keith still looking to his feet. Shiro wasn’t sure what to make of Keith’s continued silence. He started to pull away but then...

          Keith suddenly reaches up and grabs Shiro by his wrist. Shiro can’t help but tense in his strong grip. Keith lets out a breath and summons the courage to look Shiro in the eyes, not caring that his cheeks are streaked with tears. “Shiro I...have something to tell you. I should’ve told you long before now but I didn’t want to. Because I didn’t want to risk ruining our friendship. But if I don’t tell you now, I feel like I won’t ever tell you…”

          Shiro cocks his head to the side in curiosity. Keith looks so..serious. And he pauses for much longer than expected. Shiro opens his mouth to speak but before a word manages to leave his mouth, he’s being jerked forward; Keith is on his toes and their mouth are smashed together in the middle. The kiss is too rough, too sloppy, and has too much teeth to be enjoyable but the fact that it’s happening at all has Shiro stunned too much to care.

          Keith lets go of Shiro’s wrist and reaches between them, grabbing Shiro firmly by the lapels of his jacket to pull the taller teen down, closer to him. Keith’s head tilts to the side and he softens the kiss, deepening it a little. And Shiro is still too stunned to react properly. He...doesn’t know what to do with his hands. Where does he put them? And...what...is happening? Is this really happening or is this a some sort of dream?

          A little nip to his bottom lip assures him that it’s not. Keith is really...oh, wow, Keith is actually kissing him...his best friend is kissing him, that’s what’s happening right now. And Shiro...doesn’t hate it though. Keith’s lips are chapped but his kiss, while severely inexperienced, is...oddly, kinda sweet. Shiro can practically _feel_ the raw emotion coming off of Keith...his passion, his love, his desperation...it’s nearly mind numbingly how powerful it feels.

          Keith, taking Shiro’s lack of any sort of reaction as a rejection, pulls backs; He pushes Shiro away and takes a few steps back. They’re both breathing deeply. Shiro’s cheeks are bright red, his eyes are wide, and Keith fears that he’s made a huge mistake. He grits his teeth and turns on his heel, making a beeline straight for his cadet jacket with cheeks, beet red from embarrassment. He feels utterly humiliated and sees that he was right. He shouldn’t have done that. He couldn’t believe he just did that!

“Hey, Keith, wait!” Shiro snaps out of his stunned stupor and jumps forward in time to catch Keith by his arm before he gets too far away. Keith growls and tries to pull away but Shiro manages to catch his other arm and hold the other teen firmly in front of himself.

“Please. Wait. Just...please, give me a second before you run off.” Shiro laughs, breathlessly, shaking his head as if that was going to help clear the fog from his mind. Keith felt like a caged animal in his grip and he knew better than anyone that doing that to Keith was a bad idea.

“So...you have...strong feelings for me.” Shiro stated. There was no point in asking him at this point. Not with that kiss. “That...ha, that’s cool. Well, not _cool_ , that’s not what I mean. Uh…”

          Keith relaxed, just a little bit, in Shiro’s grip. His head cocks to the side in confusion.. “Well, what I mean is that...hah, I guess it would make more sense to just...reply to you the same way you confessed, right?” Shiro looks Keith in the eyes and offers him a warm smile.

          Then Shiro leans in towards Keith, slowly and carefully. He closes his eyes, lightly nuzzling Keith’s nose with his own before brushing their lips. Shiro smiles when he feels Keith’s lips lightly part in shock against his own before fully pressing their lips together. Keith’s cheeks stain bright red. He completely relaxes in Shiro’s grip, his fingers hesitantly brushing up against Shiro’s chest. And Keith smiles against Shiro’s lips. Shiro knows what he’s doing, much more than himself anyways. His hands flatten against Shiro’s chest and the taller teen’s hands slide up from his arms to cup Keith’s face in his hands.

          Keith felt a little lightheaded. Wow, kissing Shiro felt so good...it almost felt unreal to finally have his lips against Shiro’s...all good things must come to an end though. Shiro pulls back, slipping his fingers into Keith’s hair. He pulls him close to rest their foreheads together. Shiro slowly opens his eyes, meeting Keith’s half lidded, love drunk ones and laughs. Shiro pulls Keith closer, into his arms and against his chest. Keith immediately hugs him back with a huge grin.

“Well,” Keith sighs, “that worked out better than I thought it would.” Keith says, finally breaking the silence while greedily taking in Shiro’s scent.

 “Yeah, well-”

“CADET!” Shiro whips his head around, catching sight of Officer Iverson storming into the room. “IS THAT YOUR JACKET IN YOUR _FIST_ ? IS THERE A VALID REASON WHY IT _ISN’T_ ON YOUR _BODY_?”

“Shit! Run!” Shiro laughs, giving Keith a quick kiss on his head before turning his body around and pushing him forward, towards the locker room so he could, hopefully, escape the wrath of Iverson. Keith looked back at Shiro with wide eyes.

“Go! Before it’s too late! I’ll cover for you, just go!” Shiro urged him, looking over his shoulder to see how close Iverson was to the both of them. Without another word of encouragement, Keith ran towards the locker room double doors, bursting through them before running straight for the emergency exit.

          Unfortunately, Iverson’s wrath isn’t inescapable, no matter how fast Keith managed to escape. Keith _still_ ended up running laps around campus, once Iverson caught up to him, and he puked, just like Shiro thought he would. And like Shiro promised, he was there to comfort him and help him out of his puke once he was finally finished too.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to add a comment or give me a kudos if you'd like to see more! I plan on trying to post a chapter, every other day or so, and any form of encouragement will give me motivation to get the chapters out faster for you guys!!! ^~^)/


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